Ricardo Michael Nanita (born June 12, 1981) is a Dominican former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

. He played for the

Chunichi Dragons The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chūbu region of Japan. The team plays in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. They have won the Central League pennant nine times (most recently in ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formatio ...

(NPB), and for the

Dominican Republic national baseball team The Dominican Republic national baseball team (Spanish: ''Selección de béisbol de República Dominicana'') is the national baseball team of the Dominican Republic. The team has won the Baseball World Cup in 1948 and World Baseball Classic in 201 ...

Amateur career

Nanita attended

Chipola College Chipola College is a public college in Marianna, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System. History The school was founded in 1947 as Chipola Junior College; its name was changed in 2003 after the college developed several bachelor ...

, and then transferred to

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest university in Florida ...

(FIU), where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

FIU Panthers baseball : ''For information on all Florida International University sports, see FIU Panthers'' The FIU Panthers baseball team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of Florida International University in University Park, Florida, USA. The team is a m ...

team.

Professional career

Chicago White Sox

The

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

drafted Nanita in the 14th round of the 2003 Major League Baseball draft. Nanita spent his first season in the minors with White Sox affiliate Great Falls in the Pioneer League registering a .384 batting average with 37 RBIs in 212 plate appearances.

Toronto Blue Jays

Nanita played for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

Triple-A affiliate Las Vegas 51s in the 2011 and 2012 seasons. The Blue Jays invited him to

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives estab ...

in 2013. Nanita played for the

in the

2013 World Baseball Classic The 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, held from March 2 to March 19, 2013. This was the third iteration of the WBC, following the two previous tournaments, held in 2006 and 2009. Unlike ...

. Nanita started the 2013 season with the Double-A

New Hampshire Fisher Cats The New Hampshire Fisher Cats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Manchester, New Hampshire. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays major league club. During the team's first seas ...

. He was promoted to the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...

on May 21. On January 20, 2014, the Blue Jays announced that Nanita had been signed to a minor league contract for 2014 with an invitation to major league spring training. He was assigned to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons before the end of spring training. Nanita was transferred to the temporarily inactive list on May 11, 2014, after he opened the season batting .118 over 6 games. On May 17, it was announced that Nanita had been loaned to the

Tigres de Quintana Roo The Quintana Roo Tigers (), formerly known as the Mexico (City) Tigers () are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico. The team is part of the Southern Division (). The team has won twelve champion ...

of the

Mexican Baseball League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

Chunichi Dragons

Nanita was signed by the

on December 15, 2014. On October 29, 2016, it was confirmed that Nanita would be released from the Dragons along with

Leyson Séptimo Leyson Séptimo Rojas (born July 7, 1985) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Chunichi Dragons. Career Arizo ...

, Juan Jaime,

Drew Naylor Drew Roy Naylor (born 31 May 1986) is an Australian former professional baseball pitcher. Naylor pitched for the Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball from 2015 to 2016. He played in the minor league system of the Philadelphia Phillie ...

, and

Anderson Hernández Anderson Hernández Mejia (born October 30, 1982) is a Dominican former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Washington Nationals, Cleveland Indians, and Houston Astros as well as for ...

Guerreros de Oaxaca

On March 14, 2018, Nanita signed with the

Guerreros de Oaxaca The Guerreros de Oaxaca (English: Oaxaca Warriors) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Oaxaca City, Oaxaca, Mexico. Their home field is Estadio Eduardo Vasconcelos. History In October 1995, a group of businessmen, l ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

. He was released on March 30, 2018.

References

External links

Nanita's Twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nanita, Ricardo 1981 births Living people Birmingham Barons players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for the Dominican Republic Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in baseball Chipola Indians baseball players Chunichi Dragons players Competitors at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Japan Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Dominican Republic people of French descent FIU Panthers baseball players Great Falls White Sox players Guerreros de Oaxaca players Gulf Coast Nationals players Harrisburg Senators players Kannapolis Intimidators players Las Vegas 51s players Mexican League baseball outfielders New Hampshire Fisher Cats players Nippon Professional Baseball outfielders Olmecas de Tabasco players Rojos del Águila de Veracruz players Sportspeople from Santo Domingo Sultanes de Monterrey players Winston-Salem Warthogs players World Baseball Classic players of the Dominican Republic 2013 World Baseball Classic players